


Judge, Jury, Executioner

by Not4typicalwriter



Series: The King and His Knight [4]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Clay | Dream & Technoblade Friendship (Video Blogging RPF), Frenemies, Gen, King GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Knight Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Minor Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Reference Genocide, Revenge, Team Up, Technoblade-centric (Video Blogging RPF), War, as they should - Freeform, sleepy bois inc - Freeform, techno and dream being badasses, tragic backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:53:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29070594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not4typicalwriter/pseuds/Not4typicalwriter
Summary: "You know Techno, I think this would've gone better if you'd let me help plan," Dream commented as he kicked a guard on the chest."Oh, which one of this shit show could you have predicted Dream?" Techno asked sarcastically."I don't know, but my last plan to get George on the throne didn't turn out this-" Dream ducked over a swinging sword. "-shitty.""Your last plan involved me, thank you very much," Techno quipped back after knocking down a soldier. "We're trying to have a conversation here." He told the soldier.------------------------------------------------------------In which Dream goes off to assist Techno in a long awaited revenge plot against a tyrant king with the help of some friends.However, the plan doesn't go as well as planned and more truths are revealed.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Series: The King and His Knight [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2103321
Comments: 34
Kudos: 474





	Judge, Jury, Executioner

**Author's Note:**

> For new comers: There are references to other of my previously published fic, but I think you may still be able to read it as a one shot type with blanks in the references, and figure it out along the way. 
> 
> But I recommend reading 21 Days first, that should give much of the explanation of what happened. 
> 
> Other than that. 
> 
> If you read the tags there are special guests in this story.  
> I hope I don't offend anyone with my portrayal of them because I don't know much about them at all aside from like some MCC clips that I've seen.
> 
> Anyway, Techno & Dream Supremacy Let'S GOO
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

"You want to what?"

"We owe him."

"No."

"I think we do, especially because of what happened after."

George finally looked up from the papers scattered across his desk and looked his knight in the eyes.

"I know we owe him," George said. "Your leg just healed, you could barely walk, unfortunately, I don't really care how much we owe him right now, he could cash it in later."

"But he's going after King Rupert, you of all people should want me to go with him," Dream said.

"Why would I?"

"Over half of the occupants in your dungeon right now is from his troops because your dad used them," Dream reasoned.

"Yeah, but that was my dad, that wasn't him," George said.

"Okay but the Totem," Dream tried.

"That was more of _your_ stupidity," George said sassily and Dream rolled his eyes.

"Okay, but the massacre," Dream offered.

_The massacre._

The people of Phabet were peaceful. They were communal, they were kind.

They were smart. Some of the most talented people you could ever find. The best crafters, the best blacksmiths, the best brewers, the best miners, and cartographers. And they didn't just work, they created. You come to them for knowledge, for training, to learn.

You don't come to them to forcefully take their people and make them work for you, and you certainly don't kill them when they fought back.

They were some of the best swordsmen. But even the best get outnumbered at times.

It was brutal. There were no survivors.

"Dream, I know you want to go, but honestly you were on crutches a week ago," George said.

"It's been 3 months, I haven't done anything in three months," Dream said. "I've sorted that far end bookshelf in the library, I've memorized your stupid family tree, that's how bored I am, let me go-" He whined continuously.

George stared flatly at his guard. He sighed and laid back on his chair.

"You get two weeks," George said. "You're only allowed out two weeks to find him, and fight the king. If you can't find him, or if the plan needs to be delayed, after two weeks you come back. Understood?"

"Yes! Yes," Dream jumped on the opportunity. "Thank you thank you." He quickly sputtered out.

"One more thing," George said. "You don't touch Princess Aurelia. She's done nothing wrong."

"I mean I won't-" Dream shrugged off.

"Dream," George said warningly.

"Alright fine, I'll try to get Techno to back off too," Dream said.

"Dream."

"Okay, I will protect her even if Techno doesn't back off," Dream conceded and George nods.

"Alright then go on," George said looking ad Dream giddily swaying on his toes. "But I swear if you come back like last time, I will leave you to die."

"No, you won't," Dream sang before leaving, closing the door behind him.

\--

Technoblade was a hard man to find. Dream had heard that something was brewing. It was mostly whispering, but he knew better. He knew Techno. It took Dream nearly the whole week off of George's allowances to even pinpoint the general area Techno was in. You'd think if he was taking down King Rupert (whose kingdom was only a few hours away from L'Manberg) that Techno would be nearby.

He was not.

Techno had mastered the art of Nether travel and settled himself across the ocean, across islands and islands. It took Dream 3 days in the Nether roof just to find Techno's portal. He's starting to think that he's not gonna meet the deadline even if he tried. _Sorry, George_.

Dream emerged in the middle of the woods, the portal hidden by a flood of dark oak trees. He's thankful it was still daytime, more thankful that it wasn't storming.

He knows there's a village nearby, he could see it, but honestly, that just means Techno would be far the other direction. But not too far that he wouldn't be able to make a trip to trade.

Dream started tracking, using his observation skills to try and find disturbed leaves, footprints, cracked branches, any signs that anyone would've been there recently.

Dream heard a voice echo, though oddly enough, there was nothing remotely close to him that would produce that. Except maybe-

Dream walked closer to an unsuspicious looking dirt hill. It was, as mentioned, quite unsuspicious, but Dream saw a little latch buried behind a bush and knew better.

He pulled it and a trapdoor opened, a ladder there to take him downwards. Dream rolled his eyes at the thought of it but started going down the ladder.

It was an obnoxiously long way down. Dream was tired. Nether is not kind but Dream was adamant that he had to do this.

Dream had realized he was definitely heading down a ravine with how long he's been going down this ladder. The voices got louder, still echoing. Once he saw the ground coming closer, got lazy and jumped the rest of the way down.

He winced as he landed on his newly healed leg. He reached back to steady himself against a ravine wall before he was immediately body-slammed against it.

"What are you doing here?" Techno hissed.

"Jesus Techno, hello to you too," Dream groaned.

Techno dragged Dream by the collar and pulled him further away from the voices. Techno pressed a little cobblestone button that blended into the wall and revealed a little room with a chest and a bed, pushing Dream inside before the door closed again.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Techno asked.

Techno had his trusty crossbow pointed at Dream fully loaded. Dream knew it was a poison-tipped arrow, but Dream didn't feel the least bit threatened.

"Came to say hello," Dream said cheekily. "Hello."

"How did you find me?" Techno asked.

"You're not that hard to find," Dream shrugged and Techno glared deeper into his soul. "Okay, I lied. You're very difficult to find, it took me like a week and then some, but it's not impossible."

Techno looked like he was fuming. Dream walked closer to Techno and slowly pushed the crossbow down to aim at the floor instead of him.

"You're good Techno, but I'm better," Dream said.

Techno finally gave in, unloading the crossbow while huffing. Dream couldn't really tell what Techno was feeling. The man is usually very closed off and private. He could be confused, frustrated, angry, afraid, Dream wouldn't be able to tell.

"What do you want?" Techno asked.

"I don't want anything," Dream replied.

"Then why did you come find me?" Techno snapped.

"Okay, I guess I want something," Dream corrected. "What I really want is to help you."

"I don't need your help," Techno answered. "You know the way out."

"Woah, woah, c'mon Techno," Dream coaxed. "I owe you one, and you're going to take down Rupert which sounds fun, and I wanna help."

"I work alone, goodbye now," Techno said curtly.

"We both know that's not true," Dream said. "We both know I heard more than like, at least 4 different voices conversing earlier."

Techno sighed.

"They're temporary acquaintances, the enemy of my enemy, you know the deal," Techno said. "I don't need any more help."

"Just treat me like one of them. Temporary partnership-"

"Acquaintances," Techno corrected.

"Whatever," Dream said. "You need me." Techno raised an eyebrow. "I've actually been inside the castle if you remember. From George's visits."

Techno visibly hesitated. Dream knew what advantage he had on his side, and knew exactly what to say.

"My acquaintances don't like palace guards," Techno said.

"Well lucky for them I'm not a palace guard," Dream said easily.

"King's guard is arguably worse," Techno commented.

"Well I'll leave all my stuff here then," Dream said. "Your room right? I'll just be regular Clay."

"Regular Clay," Techno repeated slowly.

"Stable boy from Rupert's kingdom," Dream shrugged.

Techno exhaled, exhausted to be completely honest, and waved at Dream, gesturing for him to go on with his plan before leaving Dream alone in his room.

Dream smiled victoriously, took off his helmet, his armor, and stored all his weapons under Techno's bed. He exited the room only with a shirt, pants, shoes, and nothing else.

Techno looked at him and sighed. I guess this will have to do. Techno started walking and Dream quickly followed him. He went up and down staircases of this ravine, down a really dark cave, before emerging in what looks like a meeting room.

Eight people sat around the table, lounging and conversing as they were waiting for Techno. For a ravine/cave type base, it looked cozy. There were berries, apples, and bread on the table. They were eating around what looks like a pile of maps and different plans.

"Hey Tech, who was-"

Dream made eye contact with the man who spoke and immediately his heart dropped. Within seconds the man had pulled out a crossbow and pointed it at Dream's face.

"Whoa, whoa!" Another yelled trying to defuse the tension, although the other half of the table followed suit and aimed their weapons at Dream.

"Schlatt?" Dream scowled at Techno, arms now raised in the air. "You forgot to mention you have Schlatt in here?"

"We don't deal with castle guards Techno, you know the rules," Schlatt said. "Especially not L'Manberg's."

"Good to see you too Schlatt," Dream grimaced.

"Sorry Dream, there was no way _regular Clay_ was going to fly, so I had to get you to get rid of armor and weapon as a sign of peace," Techno admitted. "And boy was I glad you volunteered."

"So what? You're gonna let him kill me?" Dream snapped.

"Only if he doesn't want to walk out of this room alive," Techno muttered. "Enemy of my enemy." He stared at Schlatt, who huffed before putting his weapon down, the rest of the table following suit.

"Thank you," Dream said.

"Oh my god, he's the dragon slayer isn't he?" The person closest to Techno asked.

Without the threat of getting shot, Dream took a little more time to focus on the faces in the room, suddenly realizing that he recognized most of them, even if not by name.

"You act like I haven't done that too TapL," Techno said, nudging his head towards a chair, gesturing for Dream to take a seat.

"But he's Dream," TapL said.

"What did I say?" Techno said to Dream. "There was no way you could've been _regular Clay_ , not with you super not-subtle face."

"Kind of mean, but okay," Dream rolled his eyes.

"Everyone heard about it," Dream turned to who, if he remembered correctly, is named Josh. Nicknamed Fruitberries. He doesn't live far from L'Manberg and growing up they used to be compared to each other a lot. "The coup."

"It wasn't a coup, it was law," Dream said defensively.

"Sounds a little tyrannical," Finnster responded. "Kill your father for the throne, that's fucked up shit."

"He's still alive," Dream said, much to the table's surprise.

"Well people still heard about you anyway," Calvin explained. "Aside from the whole dragon thing, they heard about the mansion."

"Am I really that famous?" Dream turned to Techno.

"Don't take it as a compliment," Schlatt responded. "It wasn't meant to be."

"You work for George," Dream turned to the only person in the room that he didn't recognize at all.

"Yes, I work for King George," Dream nodded.

"I used to see you," He replied. "When you came to the palace."

"You worked for Rupert?" Dream asked.

"Another reason why stable boy Clay wouldn't work," Techno explained. "Dream, meet Daniel. Rupert's previous stable boy. Up to, maybe, 6 months ago?"

"Ah," Dream muttered. "Alright then. What's the plan?"

"We're heading out in a few hours, we have to get back before the 16th," Techno explained.

"That's 3 days away," Dream said.

"Thank you genius," Schlatt said.

Dream visibly inhaled with his eyes closed, settling his temper, before turning back to Techno.

"We're storming the castle on the 16th. You should know it takes at least that long to Nether travel back to Rupert's," Techno explained.

"You mean to tell me, I spent 3 days getting here only to be told that we're going back?" Dream in a low and dangerous voice.

"Sorry dude, we don't exactly blast news our plans," Squid said.

"Shouldn't've made the trip," Schlatt commented.

"Okay, why the 16th?" Dream asked.

"I'm going to get gear, and we're leaving as soon as possible to catch daylight so we don't have to go through the woods at night," Techno ignored Dream completely, standing up and walking away.

"Why the 16th?" Dream asked again.

"Techno likes the irony," Nestorio answered. Dream stayed silent, not quite understanding the irony that he's supposed to get. "On the 16th, exactly fifteen years ago is when Phabet was slaughtered."

And with that, the table dispersed.

Dream sat on the table, trying his best to make sense of the plans that were scattered. Josh and Calvin stayed behind, giving Dream the necessary points whilst they clean the rest up. They wouldn't want a random person finding their base let alone their plans when they leave the base.

And soon enough they were off once again. Dream had gotten his things back, as well as an extra load of weapons from Techno's storage because he might as well be useful and bring extra cargo.

They managed to make it to the portal before nightfall, plunging them into the darkness in the Nether roof. It was a few hours of navigating and walking before Techno told everyone to settle for the night.

They'd set up sleeping bags and a small campfire. The Nether roof was hard to navigate but thankfully there was no danger from mobs. The only danger probably came from like, another traveling group. That being said, anyone who traveled through the Nether roof had the potential to be very dangerous.

The fire was roaring as the group settled. As the rest of the group started to sleep, Dream sat in front of the fire, watching it burn slowly. He had his little communicator on, the magic kind, the rare kind that George forced him to bring because there was no way he's allowed on adventures without it after what happened with the totem.

"You going to get your people to come and catch us once we show up on the other side?" Schlatt sneered.

One other reason that Dream wasn't sleeping was that Schlatt wasn't sleeping either. Guess both of them were too scared that the other will slaughter them in their sleep.

"You're never going to let that go are you?" Dream scoffed. "Get over it."

"No, I'd like to know why you sold me out," Schlatt said.

"You were working with the west, my prince was in danger," Dream answered.

"We were friends," Schlatt said.

"George is mine too," Dream snapped. "Just because you hated royalty, doesn't mean you get to close your eyes when a bounty is set on my friend's head."

"I didn't have anything to do with the bounty," Schlatt said.

"And yet when we nearly got caught, it was Techno and I that ran and you stayed," Dream said.

"I helped you," Schlatt said. "The training, the weapons, the dragon. I did that."

"What do you want me to say Schlatt?" Dream said. "I'm sorry I didn't take you back to L'Manberg with me? I'm sorry I left the moment I found George."

"You've always loved George more than anything else," Schlatt scoffed.

"George was as long a friend of mine as you were," Dream said. "That's not fair."

"He's done nothing for you, I-"

"You weren't going to get killed," Dream reasoned. "You might not have anything to do with the bounty Schlatt, but Larean soldiers were yelling to not hurt you specifically. What am I supposed to make of that?"

It fell silent as Dream continued to stare into the fire.

"They didn't, you know," Schlatt said. "They weren't going to kill me, but they didn't trust me before they took me in."

Dream looked at Schlatt, waiting for him to continue the story.

"Techno was beyond saving, they know your loyalty lies with George, so me-" Schlatt shrugged. "I guess I was their third option for a secret weapon. If they want to take me in, they can't hurt me."

"So you're working for them now?" Dream asked.

"Call it freelancing with exclusive benefits," Schlatt said.

Dream hummed, hands still fiddling with his communicator. One message. He only has one message that he could send. Fifteen letters.

_I'm alright George._

_I will be home soon._

_Don't worry I'm fine._

_I miss you, love you._

"I didn't know," Dream said after a while. "They said _don't hurt Schlatt he's one of ours_ , and my mind went blank," he explained. "Not to mention you never liked George, so-"

"You weren't entirely wrong," Schlatt shrugged. "I would've left George if it came to it. I wouldn't've left you though."

"I'm sorry Schlatt," Dream said earnestly, looking across the fire and meeting his old friend's eyes.

"Me too," Schlatt answered curtly.

The two old frenemies sat in silence over the crackling fire, both unsure who passed out first through the night.

Techno was the first to wake up. Quickly gathering his things, and also getting everyone else up for another day of walking across the Nether. For three days straight this goes on, settling down at night only to rest before walking again in the morning.

Most of the time spent wasn't bad. Dream found it quite easy to start talking to Josh who he'd only vaguely remember from when they were kids. Finnster was an odd guy, but very very entertaining. He got to know everyone in the group, even exchanged a few civil conversations with Schlatt.

On the evening of the 15th, the group decided to spend the night last night in the Nether roof next to the portal. Yes, it's quite risky to think that any random person could pass through the portal and see them, though alternatively if they were to spend the night in the woods, they would have to deal with mobs.

"Here," Josh handed Dream a white ceramic mask, a painted smile sat in front of it.

"What?" Dream asked.

"You're not going into the castle like that buddy, you're gonna raise alarms before we step in," Josh explained. "Plus, protect your identity." He waved a similar mask that he had.

Dream looked down at the mask and nodded at Josh.

At the Dawn of the 16th, Techno woke the group up with a short briefing. The plan was simple.

Daniel knows the passageway that you can access through the stables. There were going to be guards, but it was Calvin and Nestor's job to make sure they have a safe entry but also stand guard if anyone were to go after them.

Following that is going into the palace. Schlatt and Josh would go through the East, slowly picking off the guards, one by one through the tunnels. TapL and Finnster were to go do the same and make their way to the West tower, where they needed to take out the projectiles and start the fire.

Squid and Daniel would raid the armory with Calvin and Nestor once everyone was far enough from the passage entry.

Dream and Techno would head to the throne room.

The plan was simple.

Right?

There were about 17 things that went wrong.

It could be the surprising amount of guards that were in the castle, about twice the amount that was there the last time Daniel scoped it out.

It could be the passageway that gets cut off just before it got too close to the throne room.

It could be the pressure plate that triggered an alarm.

It could be the weapons, all missing from the armory because every single guard they met was heavily armed.

It could be the fact that the king knew.

Somehow, king Rupert knew.

And all hell broke loose.

"Found the two in the armory!" A guard yelled.

"Get to the west towers now!" Another called back.

"Someone's in the passageway," The voices were getting closer.

"Well Techno," Dream said with a smirk. "It's been nice knowing you."

"You giving up?" Techno laughed coldly.

"Hell no," Dream said before charging down the hallway.

Dream was swinging like a mad man, every single guard that charged at him was taken down by one stroke. Techno wasn't far behind, undefeated.

"You know Techno, I think this would've gone better if you'd let me help plan," Dream commented as he kicked a guard on the chest.

"Oh, which one of this shit show could you have predicted Dream?" Techno asked sarcastically.

"I don't know, but my last plan to get George on the throne didn't turn out this-" Dream ducked over a swinging sword. "-shitty."

"Your last plan involved me, thank you very much," Techno quipped back after knocking down a soldier. "We're trying to have a conversation here." He told the soldier.

"Well if you planned better, you should've involved me-" Dream complained. "And not just in the last three days."

"Are you jealous Dream? Are you feeling a bit left out? Is that what's happening here?" Techno said teasingly.

Both of them were still a spinning duo of undefeated combatants. They were winning still. It's a long line of soldiers to get through, but they were winning.

"You know Tec-"

That was until Dream was shot in the back.

The dead-end in the passageway was not a dead end after all. As Dream and Techno turned to charge at the incoming palace guards, the dead-end revealed an opening where an arrow shot through.

Techno saw the arrow lodge in Dream's shoulder blade. He turned to see where it came from before another shot him in the chest, somehow cutting through the chest plate, just narrowly missing his heart.

He's dealt with worse injuries before, but he got slightly concerned when Dream collapsed. That's when he felt the poison rushing in and clouding his eyes. He too fell not long after.

\--

Techno woke up on his knees in front of a throne, the back of his cloak was jerked violently, forcing him to look up to King Rupert.

"Well, would you look at that?" Rupert cackled. "You _can_ kneel after all."

Techno threw his head back with such force that he knocked the guard behind him back, tumbling to the ground. In that instant, a dozen crossbows were raised and aimed at him.

"Not for you," Techno spat.

"Techno," Dream said warningly. " _Seems that abrasively leaving ludicrous fallout, often receives match eventually_."

"What the fuck?" Techno just looked confusingly at Dream.

"He means," Rupert says. "Actions lead to consequences. Am I right?"

"Might wanna think carefully about the _first letters_ of the words-" Dream stared Techno right in the eyes. "-you're about to speak." He finished. "Actions leads to consequences."

_Oh, Techno hates this guy. He hates Dream so much._

"I'm going to tell you this right now," Techno said. "You are not going to leave this room alive."

"Really?" Rupert said, in his hand a shiny gold object. "Really now?"

Techno scanned the room and saw his odds. The team that he came with was in various stages of restraints and passed out cold. Dream was next to him, probably because Rupert recognized him personally and as a threat, despite the white porcelain mask.

"Actions lead to consequences," Techno started. "You've done plenty wrong in your life, don't you think?"

"I don't think so," Rupert said easily.

"No? You always take what you want, right?" Techno asked. "Even or especially if they're not yours."

"If I can take them, I deserve them, don't I?" Rupert asked. "Like I deserve you kneeling for me, right now."

"You've been manipulating things around you," Techno continued. "Everything, you had a hand in everything."

"I like to be in control," Rupert said.

"Right," Techno scoffed. "Like how you controlled the death of your father if I remembered correctly."

"Like how you controlled, the disappearance of your wife. Along with the disappearance of L'Manberg's queen, actually. Strange huh, they disappeared around the same time."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rupert said.

"Like how you controlled your daughter's life?" Techno screamed. "Does she know?" Techno said suddenly. His eyes flashed at the princess peeking behind a door. "Does she know what you did to her lover?"

"Stop talking or you die," Rupert said.

"Everything. From setting her up with King George and setting up his personal guard to find a Totem, and have one of your people to kill him-" Techno rushed his word. Dream froze and turned to Techno. "Sure, Henry helped, but you- you-" Techno chuckled darkly.

"Kill him," Rupert said.

A guard stalked forward to strike Techno down, but Dream immediately swiped him off his legs while having his hand still tied behind his back. Dream did a jump over his binds so that now his hands were at the front of his body, picking up the crossbow on the ground within seconds.

The other guards came forward and held both Dream and Techno on point. Each had a blade against their throat.

"They move, this arrow goes into your eye," Dream told Rupert.

"You're outnumbered," Rupert said. "You'll never get out of here alive."

"Oh, I'm happy to die today if I'm taking you with me," Dream laughed.

"Every single thing you planned didn't you? You heard about Dream, about the guard that stands between your plan, you had to get rid of him, the same way you got rid of your daughter's lover. You had to kill both of them," Techno continued. "And then it failed, and Henry called you asking for more help so that he can stay on the throne just a little longer, and you planned it too."

" _Kill_ him," Rupert said.

"Is that true?" Another voice spoke up silencing the room.

"Aurelia, get back inside," Rupert scolded.

"Is it true?" Aurelia screeched. "You killed him? You killed Daniel?"

"Aurelia shut up!" Rupert yelled.

"I stopped your plan, every step of the way, I was there," Techno yelled louder. "There was a reason why I was there to take down Henry, why George is king, there's a reason I was able to find Dream and why he's alive, there is a reason why-" Techno grinned maliciously. "-I saved Daniel's life."

Both Aurelia and Rupert stared at Techno, in confusion, and in anger respectively. Techno still had his hand behind his back, but he didn't look restrained, he looked like he was exactly where he needed to be.

Aurelia looked at Dream, who she recognized, who she trusted from her visits with George, and watched him nudge his head towards one of the unconscious masked intruders.

"Daniel," Aurelia gasped, recognizing the body and hair of her lost lover despite the mask covering his face.

"Aurelia-" King Rupert said warningly but the young princess had sprinted across the floor. The guards moved to hold her, but Aurelia was too quick.

"You shoot him, you shoot me," Aurelia said, body covering Daniel's, challenging her father's guard.

"Every step of the way, I am the source of your failure, I _will_ be your downfall." Techno stepped forward, pressing his own neck towards the blade held against him. "And that is a promise."

Techno glanced at Dream, whose hand was still steadily holding the bow even though his life was in peril. He saw Dream's left hand slowly lift from his grip, and he watched Dream signal with his fingers.

_Three,_  
_Two,_  
_One._

There was a massive explosion through the front gates as people started screaming. Everyone started screaming, different commands from different sides.

Dream took the opportunity of his distracted executioner to duck under the blade and ran for the King. With a kick to the knees and a swipe, Dream now held the Totem. Three arrows shot at him, one of which lodged to his side. He groaned but his mind was still focused.

"Kill them all!" Rupert yelled.

Techno moved forward as a sword was brought down towards him. The sword went through his neck, striking harshly on the floor. Red marks appeared on his neck, the only symbol of what would have been a decapitation. In his hand, Techno had the King's Totem that Dream had just tossed not even a second ago, the only thing that saved his life from the blade of the sword.

Techno pulled against the bonds, ropes digging into his skin, though he did what he had to do to cut through. Dream managed to get himself free as well, immediately tossing a sword to Techno.

"What the hell was that?" Techno asked.

"That would be the cavalry," Dream smirked before running off to free the other men they came in with.

The guards were too distracted by the yelling as screaming of the oncoming cavalry that fortunately, they didn't severely injure any of the men. Especially not with the princess amongst them.

"Up now, up now-" Dream said hurriedly, dragging Schlatt off the ground. "You can fight or you can go, L'Manberg is here." Schlatt knew what this meant.

The door flew open and in came a smoke bomb. Tommy was the first to sprint in, immediately slamming people down through the red mist. An ax came spinning through the air and Dream knew Sapnap was at the other end of it. Dream focused up and continued fighting, giving Finnster, Squid, and TapL time to regain consciousness. Josh, Nestor, and Calvin jumped straight into the action.

Techno was a whirlwind of blood. The number of guards seemed endless. When the L'Manberg army came in, so did more palace guards after them. And they all came for Techno.

"Hello Technoblade," Tubbo said as he shot someone in the neck.

"Hello Tubbo," Techno greeted politely. "Duck." Tubbo did as told as Techno swung an ax down and took out the man behind Tubbo.

"Close it, close it now," Wilbur yelled

"This is not fun," Fundy muttered as he dodged a spear. "You said this would be fun."

"Come now Fundy," Eret laughed as the two of them closed the door to the throne room, and keeping it closed from the outside.

This effectively separated the King from most of his guards, who were slowly taken down by the L'Manberg knights outside. They could hear Ranboo and Niki, Sam and Ponk coordinating with everyone else and it sounds like they're winning.

There was only a handful left inside, but now they were severely outnumbered. Tommy and Tubbo took care of restraining the ones they've taken down while Wilbur, Nestor, and Calvin went to Techno's aid. Sapnap helped Dream steady himself amidst the injury, and also guard Aurelia as they've promised George. The rest of the group was starting to regain consciousness though.

Nestor threw Techno his trident and Techno stalked up to the throne where Rupert was still standing. Turns out Dream did too good of a job and had broken his knee, or at least injure it so much that Rupert could not move.

Though there was still unbelievable roaring outside, the noise in the throne room died down as the numbers dwindled

"Get Aurelia out of here," Techno said coldly.

Nestor and Calvin walked up to Aurelia, though the poor princess was scared and only reached out to touch Dream's hand.

"It's okay, you can trust them," Dream said.

"George is outback, with carriages if you want to leave," Sapnap informed Aurelia, who slowly nodded.

Nestor and Calvin helped Daniel up and out, following Aurelia's lead to navigate the hallways of the place. Aurelia did a quick glance at her father, who didn't even bother to look back at her, before walking away, tears streaming down her face.

"Everything," Techno gleamed. "You tried to control everything, you take what isn't yours. You force people to work for you and punish them when they fight back- Fifteen years ago today, you stood there _smiling_ as your men slaughtered through an entire population of peaceful people, just because they wouldn't work for you, just because you can't control them."

Techno swiped the king off his legs, and now Rupert was on the ground, a trident held to his throat.

"On the charges of genocide against the people of Phabet," Techno spoke slowly. "How do you plead?"

Rupert gaped, his voice disappearing out of fear. 

" _How do you plead?_ " Techno asked dangerously, pushing the trident closer against Rupert's throat. 

"I'm not-" Rupert muttered out.

"No?" Techno challenged. "Fifteen years ago a soldier came to you and said that a boy had gone off to the river, and you said you were chasing daylight. _Leave him, he couldn't do anything if he tried_."

Rupert's eyes widened in shock. The tension in the room was palpable as everyone stood at the revelation. It seems that the fight outside has died down as Eret and Fundy opened the doors. Now the rest of the knights of L'Manberg were in the room.

"No," Rupert said.

"My people-" Techno's voice was shaking. "My family. My identity- no longer peaceful. You took everything from me. You took everything but my life."

"I can give you anything. I can give you everything," Rupert bargained and Techno burst out in cold laughter. "Anything but my life."

"I don't want anything from you," Techno said.

Despite the number of people now in the room, Techno could only feel him and the bastard King under his feet.

"Please," Rupert blurted out.

"On the accounts of the massacre-" Techno spoke, completely ignoring the pleads from his enemy's mouth. "I, Technoblade, son of Phabet, hereby find you guilty on all accounts." Techno's face was calm. "Should've killed me when you had the chance."

And he brought the trident down.

Even though knights were quite used to fighting and bloodshed, most of them flinched at the blatant execution. Blood spattered across Techno's face.

_Judge. Jury. Executioner._

Techno was breathing heavily, staring at the lifeless body of his enemy in front of him. He stepped back, removing his trident from his victim, before looking at Dream.

"Technoblade-" Dream said. "-son of Phabet."

Techno sighed a small smile, chuckling at Dream before turning to everyone else.

"That's why you don't show mercy," Techno said pointedly.

"Let's maybe _not_ teach the children that," Philza said, glancing at Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo. Techno looked delighted to see Phil, and he laughed, feeling the weight of the world lifted off his shoulder.

"Or maybe just don't-" Wilbur said. "-y'know, commit genocide."

"Thank you," Techno said after a pause, looking around the room. "Thank you, everyone. I know this is a common goal, but it's also personal so-" Techno managed a small smile. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Ranboo nodded.

"Alright guess we're the clean-up crew as well," Sapnap said, clapping his hands.

"Why do we need to clean up, we don't clean places we sieged," Tommy complained.

"It's for the princess, King's orders." Dream said.

"I am not touching the body," Karl declared.

The crowd dispersed, doing what they can to clean up. There were less rubble and property destruction compared to their fight for George, but there were definitely more people to take care of. It doesn't really help that none of them actually worked at this castle and who knows there the dungeon is. Or what they're going to do with the rest of the staff.

Dream limped over to where Techno was standing, just a foot away from Rupert's body, still staring intensely.

"Dream, what the fuck was that?" Techno scolded the moment Dream was close enough.

"What?" Dream said defensively with a mischievous smile.

"What was it you said?" Techno asked incredulously. " _Leaving ludicrous fallout?_ "

"You got my whole message, it's all good," Dream chuckled.

"You had me monologuing and everything," Techno exclaimed and Dream wheezed.

"You did good!" Dream said. "It worked."

The king was too much in a gloating mode to realize what Dream did. Of course, realistically no one would be able to handle Dream's eccentricities. But fortunately, Techno knows Dream. And this guy spoke in codes.

"How long did that take you?" Techno asked.

"Oh, I've had that in my brain for a while now," Dream confessed. "I knew we were gonna need it." He tossed Techno his communicator.

Techno read Dream's last message, sent this morning when they left the Nether.

_Bring the calvary._

Techno chuckled.

"So you planned _for_ me," Tech said.

"I did what I could, I know my strengths, my people," Dream shrugged. "And IOU shouldn't be cashed in half-way."

"Right," Techno agreed softly.

"So this wasn't an accident," Dream gestured to his own face when Techno handed him his communicator back.

"I truly wish I could've gotten to you sooner," Techno admitted. "Avoid all that, but you were difficult to find and I got the word quite late."

"You still found me," Dream shrugged. "In the middle of a woodland forest no less."

"Thank you," Techno said again, waving the little golden Totem in his hand. "You should give this to George."

"No," Dream shook his head. "You keep it. Technoblade-" He drawled out. Techno rolled his eyes though he was unable to contain his smile.

"-never dies." Techno finished the sentence. "Thank you Dream."

"What are you gonna do now?" Dream asked.

"Don't know. I've been thinking about this day for 15 years. I've only been stalking the man's every move for two years," Techno shrugged. "I guess I can find some other kingdom to absolutely ruin."

"If you ever need me Techno," Dream volunteered and Techno nodded.

"Schlatt's gone?" Techno asked.

"I'm sure I'll see him again," Dream answered. "And I'm sure I'll see you again."

"I should get going. I just assassinated the king," Techno said.

"Don't be a stranger." Dream said as Techno turned to walk away.

"Techno? Where are you going?" Phil called.

Techno stopped in his tracks and looked back at Dream.

"Come on let's patch you up, you've got residual poisoning," Phil said.

"Phil-" Techno said.

"You're not leaving like that," Phil nagged. "Dream, I'll get to you later."

"Take your time Philza," Dream smirked at an exasperated-looking Techno.

Techno grumbled though he'd always had a sweet spot for Phil that he can never say no to.

Dream had his hand on his wound, palms covered in blood. He was fine, he'll survive. He dragged himself towards the courtyard of the palace where he saw George, giving Aurelia a hug before sending her off in a chariot.

"Where's she going?" Dream said going down the stairs.

"She's staying with us for a couple of weeks," George said. "Looked like she and Daniel needed a rest so I sent her off first. She doesn't have to see the body or the ruin. I'll do what I can here to help take care of things."

George finally turned from seeing the carriage off and frowned and Dream's broken and bleeding body.

"Again?" George asked flatly.

"It's just two arrows and a couple of scratches. I promise," Dream said quickly. "And perhaps I was also mildly poisoned, but I'll be fine."

George rolled his eyes before taking out a knife, slicing off two strips of cloth from his cloak.

"You can't keep ruining your cloak like that George," Dream said.

"Shut up, you can't keep ruining your body," George snapped as he wrapped the strips over the wound, tying it so Dream wouldn't need to keep his hand on it.

"So what's going to happen here?" Dream asked as he let George tend to his wounds, thankful that it stopped the bleeding.

"Assuming no civil unrest happens in the kingdom in the next two weeks," George said. "Aurelia is going to take the throne."

"Must be a shock for her," Dream said.

"It will be," George said. "But at least she's not alone."

Dream thought back to what Techno said.

_You heard about Dream, about the guard that stands between your plan, you had to get rid of him, the same way you got rid of your daughter's lover._

His accident was not an accident at all. Somehow his mind went to Schlatt, saying that George has done nothing for him. But Dream knew. Dream knew, though not the specifics of those three weeks, deep down he knew.

Schlatt was wrong.

Because if everyone else could see it too, that means something is there to be seen. And somehow he was okay with it not being an accident if it was for George.

"Why do you have a mask on?" George suddenly asked.

"I don't know," Dream said, breaking out of his trance. He smiled at George. "I like it."

"I hate it," George said bluntly.

"Hey Dream, cool mask," Tubbo said as he walked past with a struggling guard.

"See?" Dream said and George rolled his eyes. "Hey, I am one day early from the deadline," he added proudly.

"Sure," George chuckled. "Let's go home Dream."

\--

"Honestly Techno, if you'd just called for help-" Wilbur said.

"Will, I would've been fine," Techno said.

"No you wouldn't you big liar," Wilbur corrected. "You had Dream and this whole thing still ended with us storming the castle, you would've _survived_ at best."

Techno stared flatly at Wilbur.

"Oh _no Phil, I think this nagging is giving me the headache,_ " Techno said sarcastically. " _Please Phil, make Wilbur stop. The poison, the poison. Oh no._ "

Phil chuckled as he continued to stitch up Techno's wounds. Wilbur looked offended but also like he wanted to laugh.

"Alright Will, go help clean or something," Phil said.

"You believe him?" Wilbur asked scandalously, and Techno just smirked. Phil laughed and continued to shoo Wilbur off. Phil was on the second, maybe third wound when Tommy came up to them.

"Hey Techno," Tommy said. "Hey Techno, you're from Phabet. You've just said you're from Phabet," Techno hasn't replied a single word but Tommy kept on talking. "Can you teach me something? Can you teach something really cool and badass? I hear you're great teachers."

Techno inhaled a soft breath, eye glancing at the throne one last time before replied.

"Yes Tommy, I can teach you something."

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter: @noimnotJJ
> 
> Alright, notes.
> 
> 1) Special guest from Techno's friends. I'm gonna be real with you, it was hard trying to find MCYT people that are Techno's friends that aren't on the SMP that I vaguely know about (because I really don't know much about them at all). Again, hope I don't disappoint or offend anyone. They're really just name-drops with like 2 lines.
> 
> 2) I don't know why I did Schlatt like that. I really don't know, and I don't know if I characterized him well (or correct) because I am not familiar with his IRL or SMP personality. But, this whole Schlatt arc IS in fact a teaser for next week because-
> 
> 3) Next weekend: Dream and the dragon (I keep saying this like it's about the dragon, it's not). It is going to focus more about George and the bounty and Dream going absolutely crazy. Everyone wants protective Dream so, we'll see if I finish on time.
> 
> (KarlNap fic might be a little late though)
> 
> Sorry notes are long,
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are appreciated and welcomed.  
> Still need more suggestions for everything (SBI, DNF, KarlNap, other people on the SMP that I can TRY to write about if I'm familiar enough with their personas)
> 
> And that's all, cheers.


End file.
